Summary:
The book starts out with the main character, June, just losing her first husband in a car crash. Her daughter, Elizabeth, was just two years old. She then marries, Kurt Nealon, the policeman that helped her get through his death. Five years later, June is pregnant with Claire, and Elizabeth is seven. Kurt and June decide to hire a contractor, Shay Bourne, to put a new nursery in the house. Only, a few weeks later, Shay is accused of sexually abusing Elizabeth, and killing her and Kurt. The book then takes you to the courtroom where the jury is deciding if he should die. Micheal, a man on the jury, is the last person to be convinced, he wasn't sure if killing him would solve anything. Micheal is very guilt ridden, but convicts him anyway. So Shay becomes New Hampshire's first death row prisoner. Thirteen years later, Shay is moved to the jail where he will die, Micheal has become a pastor, and Claire's heart is failing. Shay is the weirdest person in the jail. He lets people abuse him, and does not make fun of his gay cell neighbor, Lucius. He even is acting and preaching like Jesus, and people begin to believe that he is the Messiah. Then, one day, Shay is watching the news and sees that Claire needs a heart. He then decides that to get even for killing one of June's daughters, he will save her other. So, with the help of Father Micheal, and his over-weight lawyer Maggie, he goes to court to make sure that he is hanged, and not lethally injected. Only, first he has to get June to accept the heart. But, a woman who has lost as much as she has is not easily persuaded. And getting Claire to agree will be even harder. But, as secrets are revealed and betrayals are shown, maybe June and Claire will see the light.
Characters:
June: June has lost two husbands, a daughter, and is about to lose the other one. She will probably never forgive Shay for what he did, but may accept his heart just because it will kill him. She feels that he owes her so much, that she should get his heart. Only, she knows that her daughter would never accept it, but maybe she can convince her. But now, she is only concerened about spending as much time with her daughter, as possible.
Claire: Claire is only thirteen, but gets worn out like an old lady. She knows that she will be dying soon and seems to accept it. She will not accept the heart that killed her sister. So, she is now trying to reassure her mother that everything will work out, and she is accepting her fate.
Shay: Shay wants to make it up to June. He feels terrible about what he did. But everything is not as it seems. Shay is keeping a terrible secret from everyone. This secret could have proved his innocence back in court. Only, he sees himself as having no future and wants to give this girl one, anyway he can.
Micheal: Micheal never got over what he did to Shay. He felt that devoting his life to God would make up for all the stuff that he did. But he can't tell Shay that. What else can he do to help him when all that Shay wants is to die?
Maggie: Maggie is Shay's lawyer. She is very over-weight and insecure. She has a crush on a doctor at the local clinic. Only, her mother is always putting her down about her weight, so she doesn't think that she is good enough for him. She wants to win Shay's case more than anything. But what will she do when she realizes that anyway this trial goes, her friend Shay is going to die?
Elizabeth: Elizabeth is June's first daughter, and her death was a tragedy to everyone. But her life was not as perfect as it seemed. During the course of her life, pain and suffering plagued her more than anything. All she ever wanted was for her mother to know.
Kurt: Kurt always seemed like your typical police officer/dad, and his death was something terrible. But no one knew the secret life that he led. He thought that he could get away with it until the day he died, but Shay found out. Will he tell the truth to save his own skin, or will Kurt's secret remain a mystery?
The book starts out with the main character, June, just losing her first husband in a car crash. Her daughter, Elizabeth, was just two years old. She then marries, Kurt Nealon, the policeman that helped her get through his death. Five years later, June is pregnant with Claire, and Elizabeth is seven. Kurt and June decide to hire a contractor, Shay Bourne, to put a new nursery in the house. Only, a few weeks later, Shay is accused of sexually abusing Elizabeth, and killing her and Kurt. The book then takes you to the courtroom where the jury is deciding if he should die. Micheal, a man on the jury, is the last person to be convinced, he wasn't sure if killing him would solve anything. Micheal is very guilt ridden, but convicts him anyway. So Shay becomes New Hampshire's first death row prisoner. Thirteen years later, Shay is moved to the jail where he will die, Micheal has become a pastor, and Claire's heart is failing. Shay is the weirdest person in the jail. He lets people abuse him, and does not make fun of his gay cell neighbor, Lucius. He even is acting and preaching like Jesus, and people begin to believe that he is the Messiah. Then, one day, Shay is watching the news and sees that Claire needs a heart. He then decides that to get even for killing one of June's daughters, he will save her other. So, with the help of Father Micheal, and his over-weight lawyer Maggie, he goes to court to make sure that he is hanged, and not lethally injected. Only, first he has to get June to accept the heart. But, a woman who has lost as much as she has is not easily persuaded. And getting Claire to agree will be even harder. But, as secrets are revealed and betrayals are shown, maybe June and Claire will see the light.
Characters:
June: June has lost two husbands, a daughter, and is about to lose the other one. She will probably never forgive Shay for what he did, but may accept his heart just because it will kill him. She feels that he owes her so much, that she should get his heart. Only, she knows that her daughter would never accept it, but maybe she can convince her. But now, she is only concerened about spending as much time with her daughter, as possible.
Claire: Claire is only thirteen, but gets worn out like an old lady. She knows that she will be dying soon and seems to accept it. She will not accept the heart that killed her sister. So, she is now trying to reassure her mother that everything will work out, and she is accepting her fate.
Shay: Shay wants to make it up to June. He feels terrible about what he did. But everything is not as it seems. Shay is keeping a terrible secret from everyone. This secret could have proved his innocence back in court. Only, he sees himself as having no future and wants to give this girl one, anyway he can.
Micheal: Micheal never got over what he did to Shay. He felt that devoting his life to God would make up for all the stuff that he did. But he can't tell Shay that. What else can he do to help him when all that Shay wants is to die?
Maggie: Maggie is Shay's lawyer. She is very over-weight and insecure. She has a crush on a doctor at the local clinic. Only, her mother is always putting her down about her weight, so she doesn't think that she is good enough for him. She wants to win Shay's case more than anything. But what will she do when she realizes that anyway this trial goes, her friend Shay is going to die?
Elizabeth: Elizabeth is June's first daughter, and her death was a tragedy to everyone. But her life was not as perfect as it seemed. During the course of her life, pain and suffering plagued her more than anything. All she ever wanted was for her mother to know.
Kurt: Kurt always seemed like your typical police officer/dad, and his death was something terrible. But no one knew the secret life that he led. He thought that he could get away with it until the day he died, but Shay found out. Will he tell the truth to save his own skin, or will Kurt's secret remain a mystery?
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